LETHBRIDGE — If you asked after Game 2 of the Calgary Hitmen’s first-round series against the Lethbridge Hurricanes if they would rally from the 2-0 series deficit they faced, you’d likely hear some doubt.

And it’s not because the Hitmen are a bad team, but rather because the young age of the group was facing a veteran-laden Western Hockey League Goliath in the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

That young team, however, punched above their weight class securing a Game 7, 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at the Nicholas Sheran Arena to pull off the upset in the series.

“It was a tighter game than it was in Game 6, so I’m proud of our guys for the way we responded,” said Hitmen head coach Steve Hamilton after the Game 7 win. “We found a way to grind out two games in Lethbridge. That would’ve been a tall order at the beginning of the series.

“You never like to be down 2-0 in any scenario, but I think as a coaching staff we had a ton of experience — our players may not have, but I think we wanted to establish as a (coaching staff) an even-keeled approach.”

Now, the Hitmen will advance to the second-round of these WHL playoffs squaring off against the Edmonton Oil Kings with Game 1 set for Saturday night in Edmonton (7 p.m.).

Suffering losses to Lethbridge on the road in Games 1 and 2, the Hitmen were faced with much adversity as they returned to their home ice.

There, they secured big wins in Games 3 and 4 toppling the Hurricanes 5-3 and 5-2 respectively — a Game 5 6-5 win on the road came before losing Game 6 at home 7-6.

“Game 3 was the pivotal game of the series,” said Hamilton. “If we don’t win that, it’s over. The series would’ve been long put to bed.

“Our guys were very much in the moment, and that was a consistent rallying cry — to be where your shoes are.”

It set the stage for Tuesday’s Game 7 — one that players always get some jump for, and the game didn’t disappoint.

The Calgary crew was led largely by the same young guns that have stepped up for them all series long.

Centre Carson Focht buried two goals, while 16-year-old left-winger Riley Fiddler-Schultz scored in the first en route to the victory.

The Hitmen got an early, three-goal lead in the first period of that Game 7 — and never looked back.

Their first goal came three minutes into the first frame — a trend that was seen often.

It was on a power play when the Hitmen continued to apply pressure as they had in bunches during the first three minutes of all the games.

With Hurricanes goaltender Carl Tetachuk out of position, a long rebound bounced to Hitmen rearguard Egor Zamula at the point. He made a quick cross-ice pass to Focht, who one-timed a shot through a sliding Tetachuk’s five-hole.

With under four minutes left in the first, Fiddler-Schultz picked up a loose puck just inside the Hurricanes blue-line before walking in and picking the top corner on Tetachuk.

Focht got his second goal not even a minute later when Hitmen right-winger Josh Prokop made a quick backhand pass from behind the net to Focht, who fired a quick shot over Teatachuk’s shoulder.

The Hurricanes got themselves on the board just under three minutes into the second period when centre Zach Cox entered the offensive zone on a two-on-one going bar down on Hitmen netminder Jack McNaughton.

With Tetachuk on the bench for an extra skater due to a delayed penalty near the halfway mark of the second, Hurricanes defenceman Alex Cotton fired home a one-timer to make it a 3-2 game.

The third stanza started off with both teams getting sustained pressure in the offensive zone. The closest to a goal, however, was the Hurricanes left-winger Taylor Ross who missed a wide-open net five minutes into the frame.

It would turn out to be a back-breaker and a missed opportunity that could’ve got the Hurricanes back into the game.

The Calgary club, meanwhile, staved off shot after shot after shot as the seconds ticked down.

“It feels unbelievable (to win the series),” said Kastelic after the game. “I think it was a long, hard-fought battle between both teams, and they didn’t go down without a fight, so that made it real tough on us.

“In the end, we stuck with it, and it feels great. It shows us our resilience that we’ve had all year. Just to come back, I mean the guys played unbelievable to get back in the series.”

Hamilton said his team will get Wednesday off before returning Thursday.

Games 1 and 2 of the Hitmen’s second-round series against the Oil Kings will kick off with games Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (5 p.m.), both at Rogers Place Edmonton.

The Hitmen will return home for Games 3 and 4 Tuesday (7 p.m.) and Wednesday (7 p.m.) at the Saddledome.

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